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A Wider Perspective

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Alvin Hansen

Part of the book series: Great Thinkers in Economics ((GTE))

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Abstract

Hansen had a lifelong commitment to education, a belief in the primacy of human capital, and equality of opportunity. At its core this was a vision of potential being fulfilled, whether personal, communal, or economic. This was evident in a distinct normative, ethical, dimension to his thought. A tax dollar could be worth more than just its monetary value because of what it bought in terms of societal benefit: education, employment, health and culture instead of ephemeral gadgets or flashy chrome automotive tailfins. Likewise, stabilisation was not some simple target of price stability, nor just smoothing the business cycle, but rather creating a stable environment in which individuals, enterprise, and society as a whole could flourish. Employment and price stabilisation were only two dimensions of a complex nexus.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    1960a: 24, 1957c, 1959c.

  2. 2.

    Providence Sunday Journal 1945-05-20:VI:6 referred to Hansen in these terms, noting his “liberal” credentials.

  3. 3.

    Hansen contributed to a postwar book, edited by his Harvard colleague Seymour Harris, entitled Saving American Capitalism (1948). Described as a Liberal Economic Program it included contributions from Richard Gilbert, Guy Greer, Leon Keyserling, Abba Lerner, Lorie Tarshis, and Edwin Witte.

  4. 4.

    See also Mehrling (1997).

  5. 5.

    Musgrave (1976, 1987).

  6. 6.

    “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.”.

  7. 7.

    ibid: 31.

  8. 8.

    ibid: 189.

  9. 9.

    1949a: 1–2.

  10. 10.

    ibid: 83ff.

  11. 11.

    1951a: viii–ix.

  12. 12.

    ibid: 145–170.

  13. 13.

    ibid: 490.

  14. 14.

    Mehrling (1997:130–6), see also Backhouse (2017) and Desmarais-Tremblay and Johnson (2019).

  15. 15.

    See Samuelson (1988) where he suggested that Cambridge, Mass. had overtaken the Cambridge of Keynes in the development of macroeconomic theory.

  16. 16.

    See Rutherford (2011: 291, 299), Hansen (1966c).

  17. 17.

    See Rutherford (2011: 306–7), Berman (2022: 32).

  18. 18.

    ibid: 307.

  19. 19.

    See Rutherford (2011: 307–8), Berman (2022: 30).

  20. 20.

    See Lebowitz (2004) and Foster (2004).

  21. 21.

    Bryce in Colander and Ladreth (1996:42).

  22. 22.

    see Colander and Landreth (1999: 7–8, 122).

  23. 23.

    CW 29:131–2, 150–1.

  24. 24.

    ibid: 214–16.

  25. 25.

    ibid: 188–206.

  26. 26.

    See for example the review of America’s Role in the World Economy in The Providence Sunday Journal 1945-05-20:VI:6. that praised Hansen’s lucidity whilst being sympathetic to those with differing views.

  27. 27.

    ibid: 25.

  28. 28.

    ibid: 31.

  29. 29.

    ibid: 49.

  30. 30.

    1932a: 250.

  31. 31.

    Eg 1927a: 206n, Garver and Hansen (1928: 399, 1932a: 192).

  32. 32.

    1957a: 23.

  33. 33.

    1960a: 70, see also (1961c).

  34. 34.

    See Coyle (2021:160, 163–66, 170–2, 188–9, 191–2).

  35. 35.

    Mazzucato (2021: 3, 59, 143, 168–9, 209–10).

  36. 36.

    ibid: 137.

  37. 37.

    ibid p. 147.

  38. 38.

    See Berman (2022).

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    Robert J. Bigg

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Bigg, R.J. (2023). A Wider Perspective. In: Alvin Hansen. Great Thinkers in Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42216-4_15

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